Smash Some Windows

"Smash Some Windows"
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Single by Violetta DiNozzo from the album Blood Of The Sacred, Blood Of The Damned
Released	December 7th, 2009
Format	CD Single
Recorded	2009
Genre	Pop/Rock/Electronica
Length
Label	Epic, Elite
Writer	V. DiNozzo
Producer	Max Martin
Chart position	#3
Certification	Platinum
Additional artwork
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Violetta DiNozzo chronology
"Superfabulous" (2009) "Smash Some Windows" (2009) "Queens Of Anarchy" (2010)

"Smash Some Windows" is a single by singer Violetta DiNozzo and the third to be released from her sophomore studio album "Blood Of The Sacred, Blood Of The Damned" in. The song was written by Violetta, and was produced by Max Martin. It is Violetta's most successful single to date in the US, hitting #1 and earning Violetta her first Grammy award. It was Violetta's biggest UK hit at the time, but this was later beaten several times.

Background

Violetta was booked to work with mainstream producers after Epic rejected material she recorded for her sophomore album. "Smash Some Windows" resulted from her sessions with Max Martin, who was willing to find a common ground between the pop-rock sound requested by the label, and the electronic direction Violetta was taking her sound. Violetta says that the song took on new personal meaning once she found out that her then-boyfriend (known only as Eddie) was cheating on her behind her back; and that originally it was intended only to be a story piece with her playing a character, something Violetta says was a common theme for the pop disc of the album; with the trance disc holding the more personal material. The single was remixed by Blackout, who previously remixed "Damn Wrong About Me" by Elice Claire, for the single release, and was also later treated to an urban remix by Darkchild which received its own video and helped the song hit #1 in America.

Reception

"Smash Some Windows" was extremely well-received just as its predecessor was; it wasn't originally considered for single release but when the public latched onto the song its popularity ensured that it was chosen for single release. Throughout the single's promotional campaign, Violetta enlisted the aid of Syd Wolfe and Loretta Lambert for the Darkchild remix; this version helped propel the song to its peak in the US when the remix began receiving airplay on rhythmic and urban formats. On the UK airplay chart it was a major hit, making it onto the chart very early before the single was released, and having an extended run in the upper portion of the chart. It was one of the biggest airplay hits of 2009.

Tracklisting

Promo CD

1. Smash Some Windows (Blackout Radio Mix - Clean)
2. Smash Some Windows (Blackout Radio Mix - Explicit)
3. Smash Some Windows (Album Version)

CD1

1. Smash Some Windows (Blackout Radio Mix - Clean)
2. Mercy On Me (Christina Aguilera Cover)
3. Smash Some Windows (Crash & Burn Club Mix)
4. Smash Some Dancefloor (Violetta Vs. The Infinite)

CD2

1. Smash Some Windows (Blackout Radio Mix - Explicit)
2. Smash Some Windows (Darkchild Remix) (ft. Loretta Lambert & Syd Wolfe)
3. Smash Some Windows (DJ Double Garage's Out Your Car Mix)
4. Smash Some Windows (Aftershock's Krystalnacht Mix)
5. Smash Some Windows (Motherfunking Vigilantes Disco Stomp)
6. Smash Some Windows (Princess P’s Broken Glass & Broken Hearts Remix)
7. Smash Some Broken Glass (The Warning’s Ms. Lennox Mash)

Music Videos

Original Version

The video begins with a sweep through a blue sky filled with clouds; we pan to a quaint suburban little neighbourhood which looks very safe, pleasant and rather boring, given everything looks very plain and similar. The peaceful atmosphere is broken up by the loud sounds of an engine. As we pan over the streets we can see someone roaring through the streets on a motorbike. There are some black and white "glamour" shots during the first verse of the bike stopping and the rider stepping off the bike. We are shown a slow pan upward from the bike to find out that it's Violetta who was riding the bike. She is singing the verse, looking around with disdain at all the boring people who are peering out their windows wondering what's going on.

We cut to a performance shot of Violetta during the chorus; there are silhouetted close-up shots of her, as well as full-length shots with her appearing in front of several mirrors and windows. Various fire effects in the background highlight Violetta as some of the windows smash. In the neighbourhood scene, the windows on one of the house start exploding. We're shown a new scene of Violetta in a different outfit sitting in someone's garage. We're shown shots of her sitting in a chair singing to a guy who is bound, gagged and hanging upside-down from the ceiling. We find out that he is Violetta's ex, and that she is smashing his windows just as she said she would. In the performance shots, Violetta swings a bat at a large pane of glass, and it shatters. In the garage, the windows behind the guy explode toward him, frightening him while Violetta laughs.

By now, a lot of the neighbours are also frightened at the exploding windows and all the glass littering the street. We see Violetta in the performance shots shattering more glass, and cut to a shot of a large front window exploding outward toward the screen while Violetta belts out some high notes in the bridge. She cuts the ropes and the guy falls onto the glass-littered floor. She leaves him there as she walks out of the garage. Violetta struts down the middle of the street; as she passes different houses, all the windows begin to explode behind her, sending the neighbourhood into chaos as they try to escape the destruction. We see a special effects shot of the camera lens breaking; the glass falls away as Violetta from the performance set crashes through. It begins to rain glass, as Violetta reaches her bike, climbs on, and rides away while the video fades to black.

Remix Version

The remix video opens much like the original version did, starting with the clouds and zooming through to a surbuban neighbourhood. The remix video intercuts shots of Loretta in front of a black background as she delivers her intro. As she builds up to announcing Violetta's presence, we see Violetta riding through on the motorbike, like in the original video. We see the same black and white "glamour" shots of Violetta on her bike, but this time we also see 1950s housewives busy doing chores (looking similar to the provided screenshots); we realise that among these are prim and proper versions of Syd and Loretta. All of this is black and white still, and the housewives all seem oblivious to what's going on outside with the rebel Violetta.

One by one the housewives begin to take notice of the commotion rebel Violetta is causing outside. The housewives are shocked and appalled at what is happening, and we see the first performance shots cut from the original video. New close-ups clearly showing Violetta's face are shown alongside all the fire and mirrors. She is still smashing windows, before being joined by Loretta for her rap part. When Loretta announces Syd's part, Violetta smashes a rather large mirror, which falls to reveal Syd. We see the motorbike pulling up outside a house, and Violetta bursts inside startling housewife Syd. With her entrance, colour starts to bleed into the place and Syd is transformed into a rebel. The new rebel version of Syd sings her part while neglecting her chores while draping herself over the kitchen bench. While she's doing this, Violetta is in the garage with her bound, tied and gagged ex from the original version once again terrorising him.

In this version of the video, Violetta leaves her ex hanging while she and Syd invade housewife Loretta's home. Like before, they turn the place to colour from black and white and transform Loretta into a rebel. More window-smashing in the performance shots by all three girls as the rebel Loretta sits down with a book and begins writing. Whatever she writes happens - and she happens to write that all the housewives start picking up baseball bats and smashing all their windows. During this part we see the housewife versions of Syd and Loretta, now joined by a housewife version of Violetta, and they parade down the street smashing the windows on houses and cars. All the destruction causes Violetta in the performance shots to smile. As the now liberated housewives go on their glass smashing rampage, the girls in the performance shots all go nuts smashing and trashing all the glass they can swing their baseball bats at. They all smash this towering wall of glass which begins the rain of glass that is also present in the original video. In the remix video however, when we cut to the shot of Violetta leaving on her motorbike, this time she is joined by the rebel versions of Syd and Loretta and the three ride off together while the housewives continue smashing windows.

Chart Performance

"Smash Some Windows" debuted at #3 on December 13th, 2009 with sales of 81,028, which reset Violetta's peak sales week. Many thought this was fair, even when it was expected that the song would top the chart. The single held on extremely well due to holiday sales, becoming Violetta's first single to achieve platinum status. It was Violetta's highest-selling single until the release of "I Didn't Mean It" with Esmeralda Dimuzio. On airplay, the song was a runaway success, hitting the airplay chart weeks before the song was released, and having an extended run at the higher end of the chart, becoming one of the year's biggest airplay hits with 13 weeks on chart overall. Stateside, "Smash Some Windows" was never officially released, until pop radio started playing the song as the follow-up to "Little Red Riding Hood" in place of "Superfabulous" which was intended to be postponed and re-released later as the second single. "Smash Some Windows" became Violetta's first ever #1, hitting the top of the Hot 100 due to strong airplay (the urban remix getting major play on Urban and Rhythmic formats) and selling a major amount of downloads.

Chart Run

• Week 1: #3 - 81,028
• Week 2: #5 - 70,703
• Week 3: #8 - 36,435
• Week 4: #8 - 33,752
• Week 5: #12 - 22,444
• Week 6: #25 - 13,566
• Week 7: #36 - 6,467
• Week 8: #34 - 8,984

TOTAL: 273,379

Artwork

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  Promo CD

• VDi-SSW-CD1.jpg

  CD1

• VDi-SSW-CD2.jpg

  CD2

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  Banner